Key Concepts

🔍Dead Code

Code that exists in the repository but is never executed at runtime. Dead code passes tests and compiles cleanly — it is invisible to most tools. Mapnostics identifies it by tracing every import and call site across the entire codebase.

Examples

• An exported function that no other file imports.
• A React component that was replaced but the old file was never deleted.
• A utility module from a feature that was rolled back.

🧟Zombie Code

Code that is called but whose outputs are never consumed. Unlike dead code (never called), zombie code runs — it just produces results that go nowhere. More subtle and harder to detect, but often just as wasteful.

Examples

• A function that calculates a value, but the return value is always discarded.
• An event listener that fires but updates state that is never read.
• A fetch call whose response is parsed but never displayed or stored.

💥Blast Radius

The set of files that would be affected if a given file, function, or export were changed or removed. Knowing the blast radius before making a change is the difference between a confident refactor and a production incident.

Examples

• auth.middleware.ts has a blast radius of 12 files — every protected route depends on it.
• A utility function has a blast radius of 1 — safe to rename or delete.

🌐Dependency Graph

A directed graph where every node is a file and every edge is an import relationship. Mapnostics builds this graph from static analysis — no runtime required. The Code Map is a visual interface over this graph.

Examples

• App.tsx → Router.tsx → Dashboard.tsx → useData.ts — a 3-hop dependency chain.
• A file with 40 incoming edges is a high-risk hub — changes to it affect 40 other files.

📊Health Score

A composite 0–100 number representing the overall quality of a codebase. Calculated from dead code ratio, zombie code, average file size, test coverage, secrets exposure, and duplicate code. Updated after every re-index.

Examples

• Score 90–100: Healthy. Low debt, safe to move fast.
• Score 60–79: Moderate. Worth a cleanup sprint.
• Score 0–59: At Risk. Unpredictable blast radius on refactors.

🗺️Intent

The purpose and architectural role of a file — not what it does mechanically, but why it exists. Intent is recovered by AI from the file's content, commit history, and import relationships. When the original author leaves, intent is usually lost. Mapnostics reconstructs it.

Examples

• Intent of auth.middleware.ts: "JWT validation layer between HTTP requests and protected route handlers. Must run before any controller logic."